Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has stated he has estimates for how much the new Children’s Hospital will cost but that it would be “not be in the interest of the State” to share it.
It comes after the HSE expressed concerns that the fluctuation in expenditure on the hospital could impact other major projects.
The initial estimate for the hospital, based on the grounds of St not inJames’ Hospital, was €650m in 2014.
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In 2017, the price had risen to €983m. By 2018, it was estimated that the project could cost €1.4bn.
The latest estimate from 2019 was €1.73bn. The Department of Health has repeatedly refused to answer questions about the cost at Oireachtas Committees.
Contractor BAM has taken at least 1,095 claims against the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board.
The HSE’s Capital Plan estimated that 2023 expenditure on the New Children’s Hospital is estimated at €324m.
It warned that fluctuation in expenditure on the hospital will have “a significant impact on the remainder of the Capital Programme”.
The opposition raised concerns about the HSE’s comments as they questioned how much the hospital will cost.
Minister Donnelly said that while he does have “estimates”, he could not share them.
“What we do know is that it will be in excess of €1.4 billion,” he said.
“I think we've all known that for some time.
“Whilst we may have some estimates, there is a negotiation going on between the development board and between the contractor [BAM] on very large sums of money.
“What the state is not doing is putting out any figures at the moment because we don't want to prejudice those negotiations.
“Whilst we may have estimates on the total cost, it would not be in the interest of the State at the moment to provide them.”
When asked what was being done to stop the cost of the hospital from spiralling even further, Minister Donnelly said that the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board has hired extra legal expertise and will challenge claims being made by the contractor “very robustly”.
He added: “What the development board is trying to do is get this hospital delivered to the new agreed time, which is next year from the contractor.
“We absolutely expect the contractor to meet those obligations whilst trying to manage the cost.”
It is currently expected that the hospital will be largely completed by March 2024 and will open by the end of the year
When asked about whether the rising cost of the Children’s Hospital will impact other projects, Minister Donnelly said that while the HSE is “quite rightly concerned”, it “cannot be allowed to happen”.
“I am absolutely determined that we will not be putting any other projects at risk, be they in Cork, Dublin, Wicklow, Letterkenny or any or anywhere else.”
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